The Tenth Companion: Alternate Ending
by Kristall
Summary: Here's a small spin off for the ending of The Tenth Companion. I know now that I was completely off on guessing what went on during filming, and what was filmed and when, but I wrote this two years before the last movie came out. I hope you all enjoy! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Elandili

by: Kristall

A/N: This is a spinoff (kinda) on a fic I wrote (for LOTR), but never posted. Some of the ideas are the same, but I've changed a few (well maybe more than just a few *grins*) details to make this a new story. Actually, it's not so much a new story as it is a different ending to my original story. Or something like that. Oh well, enjoy the story, and review to let me know what you think.

Preface

A few things you need to know. 1) Elandili (a.k.a. Elan) is the daughter of Elrohir, which is part of the reason she's so good at fighting. 2) Elan was a student of Gandalf (Mithrandir) when she was real little (for an Elf). That's where she learned to change her looks. 3) Elan had to go up against the Black Riders once and nearly got killed. She still has nightmares about it. 4) It's been about 3,005,000 years since Middle-earth sank into the sea (it used to be off the west coast of Ireland). Elan herself is 3,009,630 (in the year 2000) years old, which means she was born midway through the third age. The fourth age lasted for 3120 years, then the world ended for practically everyone by sinking into the sea.

I could go on and on with this, but I probably am boring you. So sorry. Here's the story, set in New Zealand, year 2000 AD.

Chapter 1: Memories of Old

_There were four of them, coming down the short slope. She was on the bridge, her trainer beside her. One of the Riders brought down his sword on her_...and then with a jerk that threw her out of bed, Elan woke up. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was four in the morning. She wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now, so she went to take a shower.

While in the shower, she wondered about her "dream". It was actually a memory of what had befallen her in her youth, back when she had been struggling to prove herself to the other Elites. She had always done her best and worked hard, harder than any of the others. But that day, she had lost her trainer who had taught her to be an Elite, and she had nearly lost her life as well. She still bore the scar on her shoulder and across her back where three sword strokes had joined together. Shuddering with , the cold, she went and got dressed.

Elan would never admit that she knew what fear was. She had done so many reckless things in her life, slaying dragons and even following the Fellowship, which had finally won her the respect of the other Elites. She could not say that she was afraid of a mere memory. But that battle, or rather the Black Riders she had fought against still haunted her, even though it had happened so long ago. Elan sighed, and looked at the clock.

"Aniron Elandili."* Two words, and she had transformed into her true looks. She had learned several things that the other Elites never had. She checked the mirror, made a few adjustments to her ears, and was ready to go. Smiling, she went to get into her costume for today's filming. Her glasses were now unnecessary, and she slipped them into her bag. She got her hair done and into her costume as the other cast members showed up.

Elan collected her breakfast, and slid into a seat. She briefly paused while she looked out the western window, and then dug in. She was soon joined by the Hobbits, her closest friends on the set. She just had a knack for making friends, and they had watched her tryout. Amazed at her skill in fighting, they had come to meet her in the hall, and their friendship had begun then. Now they were starting to film the third and last film of LOTR. They ate quickly, still taking time to cheerfully complain about getting up at four in the morning and then getting only five minutes for breakfast.

"Well, we actually get fifteen minutes for breakfast.", said Elan.

"There goes our perfectionist again. How long do you figure it will take for the crew to set up the equipment, and could we grab some more food before we go?" Elijah was teasing her, but she didn't mind it.

"You should grab some food from here, and a sack. We'll have about half an hour before everything is ready for filming, so we can all have second breakfast." Elan smiled at him and went to get a sack and a cooler, as well as some drinks. Elijah reminded her of Frodo. In fact, all of the main cast reminded her of the people they were representing. It made her feel young again, like when she had lived in Rivendell. Her smile grew sad for a moment. She missed her family so much.

Elan's expression grew thoughtful. It had been well over three million years since she had last seen her family, Rivendell, her old friends, or the land she had called her home. She could still remember the feel of the ground shaking beneath her feet as she ran, the cracks that had split open in the earth. The tsunami as it had covered her home, the earthquakes that had brought her home to its grave.

She shook those memories from her mind. She had to play her part as a serving maid in Minas Tirith. _Concentrate on your job, come on focus. You are an Elite and far better than any of the others had been. Focus!_ Finally, she heard someone call out: "That wraps it up!" She had had fun, but she was longing to get back to the hotel. It was there, where they kept their sword fighting skills up, that she could really unwind. She felt like taking on one, maybe two, of the guys.

Sure enough, Viggo was there, as well as Orlando. She smiled as Viggo tossed a sword to her. It was an "elvish" blade, as if these humans could copy the works of art that the true elvish smiths had created, herself among them. She swung it around a few times, getting the feel of the blade. For a human crafted weapon, it wasn't all that bad. That was pretty big praise coming from her, as she had had thousands of years to perfect her smithying before she had even met Aragorn.

She turned to look at the two guys, and saw Viggo grinning in a very suspicious way. She smiled as she stepped to the side, sending Orli running past her and then turned to take on Orlando. She soon gained the upper hand, and Viggo joined in. Elan wasn't even aware that the Hobbits had come in to watch. Her skills were coming back, and her sword neatly parried each attack. Leading the other two over to the weapon stores, not stopping for an instant, she grabbed another sword, and spun to the attack. Moments later, Elan had disarmed both of her opponents, and had her sword points at their throats.

Orli and Viggo both looked at her in surprise, more at the sword points than at her having beat them. As Elan moved the swords away, they relaxed. She had only been showing them that she had won. Viggo, however noticed her hands trembling. As they all watched, Elan dropped the swords and slumped to her knees.

Elan didn't notice the others walking towards her. She stared at her hands, which still trembled. She had been so close to losing control. She had been fighting Viggo and Orli when suddenly they had been replaced with Orcs. She had almost killed Viggo and Orli as a result. She walked over to the weapons and found a dagger. Snatching it up, she turned and flung it at a target hanging on the wall as hard as she could. The ten inch blade, missing the target, sunk into the wooden wall. Only two inches stayed out of the wall.

"Elan, you ok?" Viggo's quiet question did a lot to restore her mental peace. For the moment anyway.

"Yeah. Come on, it's dinner time."

Chapter 2: Longing

Elan was sitting up in bed reading when there was a quiet knock on the door. She put her book down and went to see who it was. Viggo stood outside the door. Luckily for him, she was decently covered. "Come in.", she invited, but Viggo smiled and shook his head.

"No thanks, I'm on my way to bed, and Pete would be after my blood if I fell asleep in your room." Elan laughed. "But I was wondering, tomorrow's a free day. Would you teach me that move you used to disarm Orlando and me?" Elan gave another soft laugh and said that he'd better be in the practice field by eleven the next morning. Viggo thanked her and said good night.

Elan sighed as she shut the door. She was not exactly thrilled with this. It would bring back memories of when she had trained the real Aragron when he was a young man, only about thirteen, learning to fight with sword and knife. But there was no help for it, she would never be able to refuse to teach a move she knew to someone else.

With a feeling of longing for her people, especially her family, Elan tried to fall asleep, but it was hard. In fact, the only reason why she fell asleep at all was pure exhaustion. When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed that she had never been separated from her family, and that she was in Valinor with them all, even Arwen. She missed them all so much.

The next day, she got up later than usual, but still managed to get to the field an hour before Viggo was due. She spent the hour in target practice, using the dagger she had created when she was young. The sun caught the sapphire blade, sparkling brightly. She tried every move she could think of, the more difficult the better. She had been a dead shot since she had learned a trick or two from Merry and Pippin when they had come to Rivendell with Frodo and Sam, and she had not lost her skill.

Viggo came along just as she was sheathing the blade. Elan took her sword, the one she had created, while Viggo chose one of the other blades. They spent all morning practicing the move, and a few others as well. Viggo was a good student, and had the moves perfected by lunchtime.

Elan decided to go rock climbing after lunch. Hopefully, that would take care of her longing, but it was only a slight chance. Elan listened with one ear to the conversations of the others, but for once stayed out of the talks. Viggo and Elijah both noticed this, but said nothing about it. The other actors thought she was just tired after the fights from yesterday and this morning.

An hour later, Elan was headed out for the hardest slope she could find. There was one none of the others had tried, not even that daredevil Orli. It would be perfect for her. She was about to go up when a hand caught hers. Spinning around, she saw Elijah was holding her. "You want me to hold the rope for you on your way up?"

"No, but thanks for the offer 'Lijah. I want a challenge, and with you holding the rope, this is gonna be too easy. You can hold the rope when I come down though." Elan grinned at the shock on Elijah's face and grabbed a handhold. Minutes later, she was half way up, all of her concentration on the rocky ledge she was scaling. Her muscles were starting to tremble with the strain when she ran out of handholds. Looking to her left, she saw several above her, one within reach. _Time to play musical feet now_, she thought to herself. Moving her right foot to where her left foot was, she almost lost her grip on the handhold in her right hand. Had she missed it, she would have gone plunging straight back down to the ground. Giving herself a push with her right hand, she managed to get herself upright. She grabbed the handhold to the left with her left hand, and stared back up again. A minute later, she was at the top of the small cliff.

Smiling with pleasure, Elan tossed down a rope for Elijah to hold. Falling on the way down would be a quick way to land her in the hospital, if she were lucky enough to survive. She was down in about half the time it had taken to go up. Elijah was frowning as she put away her gear. "That was crazy. Who taught you how to climb dangerous slopes without any kind of safety gear? You almost fell."

"When you've been around as long as I have, you learn a thing or two. Especially how to get out of tricky situations."

"What the heck are you talking about? You're only eighteen, Elan! Is there something you haven't told us?" Elan silently, and heartily, cursed herself. She had made another slip of the tongue. She had lied about her age, and for good reason. If she had told them that she was about 3,009,000 years old, they would probably have all had heart attacks, or reactions along those lines. No one had suspected anything wrong. Or so she had hoped.

Unfortunately, Elan had to admit that her verbal slips were getting more frequent. Elijah was already suspicious, and it was more than likely only a matter of time before the others also started to suspect her. She sighed as they entered the mess hall. That night, Elan sat alone in the corner, playing with her food. She wasn't really hungry. Her thoughts kept on drifting back to the real Middle-earth, her Middle-earth. She was remembering her training as an Elite when the image of the Black Riders coming for her sprang into her mind.

The vision was so real she started out of her chair. She saw Elijah looking at her with concern. Looking around, she saw others watching her with puzzled looks on their faces. Elan saw the vision again, shuddered violently, and ran from the room with a strangled cry.

*Aniron Elandili. = I desire Elandili. A spell Elandili came up with when she was only twenty years old (in our reckoning) to return her looks to normal from a disguise.


	2. Chapter 2

Elandili

by: Kristall

A/N: If you think that I own LOTR, you have my permission to sail to Valinor with Legolas. Translation: I don't own LOTR any more than I own the moon (which is not at all). Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Visit to Valinor

There was silence for a moment after Elan ran from the room. Elijah looked at Billy, Dom, and Sean. Billy was the first one to speak. "What was that all about?" Elijah and the others shook their heads. They were all baffled by Elan's strange behavior.

"Whatever it was, she was terrified. Did you guys see her face? As white as a sheet, and her eyes were as wide as they could be.", said Sean. Viggo joined in as the other Hobbits nodded. Orli, John, and Liv also came over to the table to sit down.

"Yeah, but what was she so terrified of? There's nothing outside or inside that could have scared her, and she's never been afraid of anything. So what could set her off like that? It was like she suddenly ran into the Black Riders or somethin' like that." No one knew the answer to the riddle. As the others debated the subject, Elijah quietly slipped from the table.

He found Elan in her room, sobbing. Taken aback, Elijah turned to leave the room, but she noticed him and muffled her sobs long enough to ask him to stay. Elijah nodded as Elan's lower lip trembled again. She tried to hold it back, but it was no use. She started to cry again.

Elan heard the door close, and then felt Elijah's arms around her. She could her his voice: "Elan, please, what's wrong? Did Viggo finally beat you in a match? Come on Elan, stop crying and tell me what's wrong." A few minutes passed and finally Elan could get out a bit about what was bothering her.

"My family. I miss them so much. I wish I could see them again. It's been so long since I last saw them...more than twenty years. I can't go and see them, I can't even talk to them...but I don't want to leave here either! I want to see my father again!" Elan said nothing about the visions of the Riders. She would not be able to handle that again right now, and she knew that it would confirm every single one of Elijah's suspicions.

It was midnight before Elan fell asleep. Elijah tucked her in and went to his own room. He now had another question to add to what had scared her so much. How could it have been well over twenty years since she last saw her family, when she was only eighteen years old?

Since Elan was so good at rock climbing, she was the one who planned nearly every rock climbing sequence in the trilogy, especially for the Mount Doom and Amon Muil shoots. Right now, she was halfway up a slope of Amon Muil, and about to show them how to fall down a cliff face. Elan deliberately grabbed a handhold that couldn't possibly hold her weight as she pulled herself up. Sure enough, the rock broke, and Elan let herself fall three meters (nine feet, nine inches) before catching herself on a ledge. She was smiling, for she had heard the reactions of the ones below her, even though she was fifteen meters (almost 49 feet) up. She pulled her self up onto the ledge and stopped short. Her...her father was there.

Elan took two steps back in surprise and felt herself falling. She had stepped off of the ledge. It was too late to save herself. She fell like a rock, slamming into the rocky ground below. She saw dark shapes coming, and then sank into oblivion as wave upon wave of darkness rolled over her.

She woke with a start. Looking up, she saw Elladan standing beside her. Then, Elrohir came into her view, taking his brother's place at her side. "Ada?" The single word was a question and accusation at the same time. Elrohir smiled sadly, understanding both meanings to the single word. He reached out and stroked her hair.

"I am sorry it has been so long Elandili, but you stayed until it was too late to call you to Valinor from Middle-earth. And then the Valar had to come up with a way to open the gate between our worlds again. Only the dead know how to travel here, and they never leave their halls. In a way this is real, in another it isn't. In this place, Valinor, is your spirit, or most of you life force. In the place where you came from, where you've lived, is your body: in a coma."

Elandili nodded and turned her head. The others would be frantic about her. But how was she to get back to her body? In the meantime, she could be with her family for a while. Elandili got out of bed and pulled on the dress that her father gave her. It was exactly like the one she had worn in Rivendell the day she had been welcomed back from Gondor.

Tears of happiness pricked in her eyes, and she gladly followed her father out to the terrace. There were three figures she recognized instantly: Frodo, Sam and Bilbo. She gave a cry of delight and ran to hug them all. She didn't even notice that Elrond had joined the group, as well as the others from the Fellowship. When she did notice them, she did a double take. Merry, Pippin, Boromir, Aragorn and Arwen were all there. She laughed and ran to hug Arwen. "How is it possible?"

"When our bodies floated into Valinor, our spirits came to claim them, for they wanted to be with family and friends again. We alone of the dead have returned from the halls of Mandos." Elandili merely smiled happily. It was a dream come true for her, and yet...what would she do about her friends back in New Zealand? Would she always be torn between two worlds?

Elrohir put a hand on her shoulder, as if he could read her mind. "The Valar said that they wished to speak with you when you woke up. They are waiting for you." He stood up and started to walk away. Elandili looked towards the others and Elrond nodded. "Go on child. The Valar should not be kept waiting, and we'll be right here when they are finished with you. Run along now." Elandili smiled at him and ran after her father. She felt like she was ten again, going with her father to Mithrandir to start her lessons with the wizard.

The Valar were waiting for her when she arrived with her father. They greeted her and one of them gestured for Elandili to sit down. Elandili would have preferred to stand, but she had just been through the experience of having her life force nearly ripped completely from her body, and she was tired. As Elandili sat down, the Valar who seemed to be in charge asked her if she were happy in the world she had come from. Elandili answered without hesitation.

"The only thing that spoils my happiness there is not having my family with me. But here, I find that while I have my family, I miss my friends." The Valar all nodded, pleased with the answer. Elandili had been honest, and was not afraid to speak her mind even to them. There had to be a fitting reward for this, but what? They decided to ask Elandili.

Again her answer came without hesitation. "The best reward you could give me would be to allow my friends to come and live here with me and my family some day. And also to let me go back for a while, until we finish what we're working on. I hate having an unfinished job on my hands."

The Valar smiled at her last remark, but then they grew thoughtful. Her wish was impossible, unless Elandili's friends came with her, or at least followed her through the same gate. Could they open it more than once? As if Elandili knew what they were thinking, she spoke up. "I know that it is easier to open a path between Valinor and my current world from Valinor. If you allowed me to go back to finish this job, then Ada could come and get me. Later on, when it is time for my friends to come, whenever those times are, I can go back to get them. You can hold the way open for at least two days, and that would be plenty of time."

The Valar smiled at her proposition. "You know much about us and our abilities. Very well. We shall follow your plan. Take these, they are copies of the ring of Gondor. Give them to your closest friends, the ones you want with you, and if you need more, just have a word with the smiths. Then, when they are ready to come, the ring will glow blue, calling them to Valinor. They should go to the place where you left from, and then you can go and get them. This is the greatest gift we can give to the race of Men, and in this new age, only a select few are even worthy of coming to Valinor. Choose wisely, for once given, the gift can not be recalled. Do you understand?"

"I understand completely, and I will follow your instructions to the letter. But how am I to get back at all? You know my body is in the other world."

"You will stay here for a week while preparations are made. At the end of the week, you will sail back with your father. We will arrange it so that he can leave the rings as a gift for you in your room, which will let you slip back into your body. Once you are in your body, you will wake in about eight hours."

Elandili bowed her thanks to them and was released then. As she left she heard one of the Valar whisper to his neighbor: "That half-Elf is nobler than many I have met. The friends she has have to have a lot of worth for her to consider them her friends in the first place. We will not have to worry about whom she chooses to come here, for all of her friends will be worthy as her of coming here." She smiled at these words of praise, and went back to the terrace where her friends and family were. They spent the rest of the day remembering old times, and they asked Elandili many questions about how she had been.

Chapter 4: Going Back

At the end of the week, Elandili sailed in a small boat to the western shore of the North Island, where she had been taken. Elrohir had the sack of rings, and Elandili herself had been given one her father would slip onto her finger when they got to her body.

The trip inland was uneventful, and it took them only a few hours to get to the hospital. The visiting hour had just begun, and Elandili spotted the four Hobbits walking to one of the rooms. She followed them, leading her father after her friends. She stopped outside of the door to listen to what they were saying. Elijah was speaking. "You know, it's funny. After a fall like that, you'd expect her to still at least have bruises, not to mention broken bones. But looking at her now, you'd never know she had a serious fall. She might as well have been taking a nap."

"Yeah, it is weird. But stop worrying about that an' start worrying about how long it will be before she wakes up. If it's too soon, I won't have enough time to get the welcome back party together."

"Dom, you are an eternal optimist, you know that?"

"Nothin' wrong with being optimistic, Billy. Better than just wishing there had been some way to save her. That sort of thinking wastes brain power." The others chuckled at that.

Just then, Elrohir walked in, which brought an abrupt halt to the laughter. "Who are you?", demanded Sean.

"I'm a friend of Elan. Could I just leave this on the table? It's a gift for her, and this is a ring she left behind the last time I saw her. I'd like to give it back."

"Sure. The table's over here. Where are you from?"

"A suburb in San Francisco. But I'm thinking of moving here. It's so much more peaceful." Elrohir put the bag on the table. "I'd better go now, I've got an appointment that I have to keep. My best wishes to Elan, and good luck on your movies." As he left, the others thanked him. While their backs were turned, Elan slipped into her body. The monitors showed the improvement instantly. The guys looked at the monitors, and called a nurse in to translate. When they got the news that Elan would now be fine, they cheered quietly, so that they wouldn't disturb anyone else.

They started to leave at the end of the visiting hour, only to be invited to stay. As the nurse explained; "You're in here every moment you can get in the room anyway. She's being moved to a larger room, since her recovery is assured now. And the larger room is almost completely soundproof, so if you want to call in your other friends who come, you can wait for her to wake up." The guys thanked her, and called up the others from the hotel. Even Pete came for the stake out.

They were just about to drift off when Elan moaned and opened her eyes. The cast were happy to have her back, and said so many times. Elan smiled at them, and scolded them. "You should have gone to bed and come tomorrow. Go on now, get. You can come back in the morning." The others grinned and said good night. Elijah remained for a while though.

"We missed you. You were gone for a week." Elan smiled at him.

"I know. I missed you guys too. But now I'm back. Anything left for me?"

"You mean aside from the paperwork piled up on your desk? I'm only joking. Well, there was this one guy who came in earlier today. He left a small sack on your table, and he gave your ring back. It's on your finger. Do you want me to call him?"

"No. He's gone now, you wouldn't be able to reach him. 'Lijah, I've got to tell you something."

"Save it for later. The filming will be finished soon. We still have all of the Mount Doom sequences to do, as well as the Elves leaving to go to Valinor, but that's it. We're taking a break now, until you're back at work, 'cause we all know that you would skin us alive if we left you out of the final scene. Tell me when we finish filming."

"I'll do that. Good night 'Lijah."


	3. Chapter 3

Elandili

by: Kristall

A/N: Another disclaimer (a.k.a. Author's Note). Well, I do not own LOTR, nor do I own any of the actors' contracts, locations used for the movies, film rights, etc. The list is endless, especially when one gets into copyrights for both the book and movie (which I won't at this point, but you could probably find the details on the web, if you wanted to, which you probably don't). Also, A/N: I know that the Americas were once attached to Africa and Europe, and that they broke off well over three million years ago, but I had to change this so that it would work for the story. Otherwise, it would be the Americas at the bottom of the ocean, and that would ruin the story, because the world is supposed to look like the way it is today in my story. Sorry for going into more detail than usual, but it's nine forty five p.m. right now, and I had two IB exams today (English and German) and IB exams are a nightmare. *sarcastically* Just think, I get to have 'em again, twice, next year, and I had them once last year. Oh boy! *drops sarcasm* OK, enough wandering off the subject. Hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 5: The Final Scene

Elan was back at work a week later, at her orders. She couldn't stand another day in the bed. Especially since she kept on thinking about Valinor. If she wasn't careful, she'd wind up spilling everything too soon, and to too many people. But her visit couldn't be hidden completely. She had been to see the trees that had been established in Valinor since Middle-earth had vanished. The light still shone in her body a bit. It was really noticeable when she was in a dark spot, so she took care to stay in lit areas. She also longed to tell her friends about her gift for them, if they would have it, but she couldn't tell them just yet. She had to wait until they had their farewell party.

The best way for her to not make too many slips was hard work. Thus, Elan was back at work a week after she woke up, to the dismay of the doctors, but she insisted. Today, they had finished filming the Elves, including Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan, and Galadriel, along with Bilbo and the Hobbits, going to the harbor to leave Middle-earth. By the end, Elan had tears streaming down her face. Just one more Mount Doom sequence, the one where Frodo fought with Gollum and the Ring fell into the Cracks of Doom. Elan was to be on hand to coach Gollum on how to fall over the ledge they were using and land safely while waving his arms and legs about on the mattress. The party would be the day after. She could wait.

The next day dawned bright and clear. Elan watched the sun rise, feeling refreshed, even though she had spent a restless night. It had been as if she were in Rivendell, she had recovered so well. She smiled fondly. The only things from her past that had any kind of hold on her still were the suffering that she had gone through. Her mortal mother's death when she was four, the struggle to be accepted by the Elites that had lasted for nearly eight hundred years, the Riders that had killed her trainer and had nearly killed her as well. At that time, only one thing had saved her - the river that flowed under the Last Bridge. She had dived into the waters, letting the river carry her to safety. She could still feel her shoulder burning with the pain.

That caught her up. She wasn't remembering the pain this time, she was feeling it. Her wound had started to throb again, a reminder that she had to clean it, a duty she had been neglecting. Elan turned and went into her room. Going to her bag, she dug through it, looking for the hidden pocket. She still had a few leaves of athelas in this pocket, as well as copies of the sketches she had drawn of her family before they had left.

She took only a small part of one of the leaves, which had dried out but were still useful. Soaking the crushed leaf in water, she let her true looks show so that she could clearly see where the scar was. Then she took a washcloth and dipped it into the water. She let the water run over her scar, which ran up her right breast, over her shoulder, and down across her back. Elan cleaned the scar carefully, and then drank the water, as her supply of athelas shouldn't be wasted. The drink gave her a strength that would allow her to get through the day. Then, she returned her looks to the Elan everyone knew.

The cast were eating a quick breakfast when Elan found them. Nearly everyone was there, even the ones who had been "killed" in the first two movies. This scene was worth watching as it was being made, and none of the cast would miss it for anything. Elan greeted Sean Bean and a few other familiar faces. They would also be here for the party tomorrow, which was fine with her. Some of them were good friends of hers, and the gift would be offered to them as well.

The only change Elan made in her appearance was to give herself her elvish vision. As she slipped her glasses into her pocket, Elan thought to herself: _Humans can not see. How do they handle being so short-sighted all the time?_ Then Elan grinned to herself. Human eyes would seem weak to her, when she was used to being able to see things a hundred paces off without having to mentally enhance her sight. The others noticed her action, but at the time did not realize the importance of it, nor of the nonsense words she muttered under her breath. None of the others spoke Elvish.

Elan showed Gollum (a.k.a. Andy Circus) how he should look falling over the ledge. She then took turns wrestling with both Elijah and Andy, physically showing them what they had to do, while the camera crews arrived and set up. Andy and Elijah had a practice round from where Gollum bit off Frodo's finger to when he fell into the "Cracks of Doom". Elan was satisfied with both of them, and said that the shooting could commence. The shooting lasted all morning, and then they stayed the afternoon without packing up. Elan had fun doing flips off of the ledge, which was about ten feet above the thick mattress. Then Orli declared an archery contest. The Elves all joined in, as well as Elijah, Viggo, Elan, and Sean Bean. Elan won of course, with Orli in second place.

Chapter 6:The Gift of Elandili

The next day, everyone dressed up as a creature from Middle-earth. Elan just went as herself, dressed in clothes the same style as she had worn as an Elite in Rivendell and Gondor. There were rock climbing contests, water fights (Billy had produced an amazing amount of water guns and water balloons overnight for this), races, and swimming in the river nearby. Elan smiled as she went back to her rooms to change for the dance. They would all still be in their costumes, but not her. She would go dressed as she had been back when Elessar had been crowned, but not as an Elf. When the moment was ripe, she would reveal herself as Elandili, the last Elf to leave Middle-earth.

This was more of a dinner dance. There were tables for people to eat their supper, with a clear spot in the middle. Elan got many compliments on her gown, which she had made herself. She smiled at the compliments. Elijah took her aside and asked why she had gone back to being human. Elan laughed and said: "I just decided to. Right after the party, at the meeting, I'll become an Elf again." Elijah nodded and Elan disappeared before he realized that she had human ears, not elf ears. How could she get her ears back on, in such short time?

Finally, Elan was alone with all of the major cast. She had spoken with Peter Jackson the night before and had asked if he would assemble this meeting for after the party. She had a special surprise for all of them. Pete had agreed, and so they were all there. The ones she had chosen. The ones who would get her gift. The ones who would go to Valinor with her if they so chose.

They were waiting for her to speak, so Elan stepped up to the mike. Taking it in her hand, she stepped aside so that they could all see her clearly. Her first words were a surprise in themselves. "My friends, we have come at last to the breaking of our own Fellowship. Tonight is the last night we will be together, so I think it is time for me to come clean." Her audience gave scattered gasps. She had their attention. Good.

"First of all, I have to show you something. Only after that will I answer questions. I ask only one thing of you, for now. Don't run away when you see what I have to show." Elan knew that her scar would be visible, and it would be clearly visible against her tan. Smiling, she said two words. Two little words that everyone could translate, because of the song that went with the Arwen/Aragorn love theme. "Aniron Elandili."

The change was slower this time, so that her audience could see what was happening. Her ears grew a bit, and her hair was now past her waist, perfectly tidy. Her face was as clear as a model's now, and her height increased so that she was six feet tall. Lastly, the scar appeared, coming up over her shoulder and moving down her breast. Or at least that's what it looked like.

Elan had closed her eyes when she had spoken. She opened them now, and the cast could see the clear dark blue eyes, instead of the green eyes they knew. Elan had become Elandili, finally showing the truth to her friends. She smiled at them, and saw Elijah's face. He looked as if he were pleased he had guessed correctly about her race. She smiled and spoke again: "My real name is Elandili, which in the higher elvish language literally means "Half-Elf". I was named for what I am. If you have questions, ask me. I will answer everything."

The questions came rapidly at her, but in a somewhat orderly fashion. Elandili answered every one. The most burning question was why she had stayed in Middle-earth when all of the Elves had left. "I was trapped by my own honor. I kept on promising to serve the descendants of Elessar, until shortly before Middle-earth sank into the sea. I left then, going to the mountains that cut off Middle-earth from the rest of the world."

The other burning question was where Middle-earth had been located. It had been located at the western shore of what was now Ireland, with the Americas attached to present day Asia. The entire land mass had been all together, so there had been plenty of ocean to get to Valinor on. But the tidal wave had been created as the present day Americas had broken off from the main land mass, which covered Middle-earth.

Finally, Elijah asked his only question, the last of the evening. "Will you be able to go to Valinor?" Elandili nodded.

"That was my other surprise. There is a reason as to why you are here tonight. I have an offer that if you will take it, will enable you all to follow me someday to Valinor. That is my parting gift." They stared at her. Could she really be offering them a chance to meet those they had portrayed, or their friends? It seemed too good to be true. Sean A. was the one who asked how it would be possible. Elandili smiled.

"I have a sack of rings here, in my hand. The same sack that was left on my table at the hospital. My work in this world is done, I can finally go. But I offer, with the grace of the Valar, a chance for you to someday follow me to Valinor. But the offer, while made to all of you, will only be available until six tomorrow morning. After that, there will be no other chance."

"Will we have to leave right away?"

"No. You will spend most of your mortal life here, and then when the ring glows blue as Sting did around Orcs, gather a few things and come to the mouth of our Anuin. I will be waiting for you there. Also, you must come within a month, or the gift will be taken away. On no other conditions will this gift be offered to you."

Elijah stepped forward. "I will take a ring." Five words, but ones that cleared the air, allowing the others to come back to the present. One by one, the others came and took a ring, until they were all gone. Not a single one was left. Elandili smiled at the empty sack. She would leave now, but she would have only a bit of a wait before the first one was called. She now would no longer be torn between two worlds. She would have her family and friends at the same time.

0o0o0

Elandili saw her ring glowing blue. She was excited. Just over seventy years had passed since she had left the outer part of Middle-earth. Now it was time to go back and lead some of her friends to Valinor. She went down to the harbor and got out her sloop. It could hold ten people at the most without capsizing or being too crowded. She set sail east, through the mists. Soon she was through them and saw, on the shore four men. They were watching the sea, and hailed her sloop. It was the Hobbits, grown old certainly, but it was still them. Elandili sprang ashore and saluted them. "Welcome aboard the Argonath. I hope you have not waited too long for me on this shore."

"No indeed, my Lady, you have not." Dominic was the one who spoke. "We all showed up here today in the morning with a lunch, and it is now mid-afternoon. The wait has not been too long for us."

Elandili smiled at them and motioned for them to come aboard. She freed the mooring lines and sailed back west, bringing the first of her friends home. These friends would be followed by all of the other chosen ones. She smiled as the wind blew through her hair, blowing away the years on her passengers' shoulders, so that they were once again the men she had worked with for the filming. As the mists rolled over them, she could see the tall spires of Valinor. They were almost home.

A/N: Ok, it's now past midnight. I hope you enjoyed the story. *yawns* I'm going to bed. I've been up too late. See ya!


End file.
